Exotic, or exotic weed, is a slang term for high-potency cannabis popular with street culture and rap music. It is also known as “zaza.”
“The East Coast considers many Cookies strains to be exotic.”
“I must have been smoking something exotic last night because weed never made me feel like that before.”
What is the difference between cannabis and exotic?
Just as a tiger is exotic in America but not India, the label of exotic cannabis depends on the location and audience. To a newbie, almost anything with a high THC count and colorful trichome crystals will feel exotic. But the term does not traditionally describe familiar favorites like OG Kush, Sour Diesel or Jack Herer.
The name suggests origins in the tropics or Middle East, but for many it is nothing more than a marketing tool used to classify ambiguous but potent strains whose true genealogy is unknown to the dealer.
A supplier offering an exotic strain could have anything from a fruity sativa to a dark purple indica, but the general standard for the name is a top-shelf strain that is both rare for the region and has extremely noticeable effects.